MH17 Forest Monument Unveiled On 3 Year Anniversary

A tree for each life lost

A forest memorial with one tree for each life lost in the MH17 tragedy will be unveiled in Amsterdam on the third anniversary of the tragedy.

283 passengers and 15 crew members were killed when their Malaysia Airlines plane was shot out of the sky on July 17, 2014. 38 Australians were on board.

The verdant monument has been planted near Schiphol Airport where the doomed flight took off for Kuala Lumpur. It takes the shape of a ribbon, inspired by the black memorial ribbon used to symbolise mourning after the atrocity while each July, a ring of sunflowers surrounding the site will bloom.

Relatives of the victims planted the trees in March and many loved ones of the Australians who perished have made the journey to see its official opening to the public, including the families of Sydney man Jack O'Brien and Toowoomba couple Jill and Roger Guard.

The Australian government on Sunday reaffirmed its commitment to bringing the culprits to justice, however there question of who is responsible remains unanswered three years on.

A team of investigators concluded last September that the rocket was fired from territory in eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian separatists, however the Putin government maintains Ukraine's military is responsible for the horror.